Anaconda - the system configuration utility that runs whenever a Red Hat Linux (or compatible) system boots is a shell script written in Python. So are most of the support scripts for the Xen Virtual Machine facility. Among other things, that means that you can pretty well count on Python being available.
A lot of people prefer Python to Perl because of Perl's unfortunate reputation for "write-only" code.
These days, I tend to use Perl mostly for tasks that depend a lot on pattern matching and Python for more general scripting.
Customer surveys are for companies who didn't pay proper attention to begin with.
Originally posted by Tim Holloway: A lot of people prefer Python to Perl because of Perl's unfortunate reputation for "write-only" code.
And its a well earned reputation.
One crack that I've heard recently is that Python programmers tend to be smarter than Java programmers. Just because every one's mother has heard of Java and tells little Johnnie to "become a Java programmer and make big bucks" whereas no one knows what Python is other than geeks.
Jimmy Clark
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...whereas no one knows what Python is other than geeks.
This is a significant weakness. It is important for non-technical roles, i.e. business analyst, project manager, etc, to have a strong grasp of information technologies and tools. [ November 18, 2008: Message edited by: James Clark ]
Originally posted by James Clark: It is important for non-technical roles, i.e. business analyst, project manager, etc,
I have the opposite opinion. If those roles aren't occupied by technical people, I don't want them making technology decisions for me. That's asking for a Dilbert-esque meeting where somebody's read about this great new thing called AJAX on a blog and demands that all our databases use it. Then I have to :roll: and and and finally implement it my own way because non-technical people won't know the difference And for what it's worth, Python is my choice if a task is too much for a shell script but not enough for a full-blown Java app. My employer has several large-scale Python apps in production and from what I've heard, there haven't been any language-related drawbacks or limitations.
Joe, I see your point. I wasn't speaking on "making decisions" however, just for clarity.
What I have experienced is that when non-technical management and other roles do have a significant understanding of information technologies and the various needs of them, better decisions are made and things run smoother.
A project manager that has a significant understanding of Java-based development is a great thing, in my opinion.
A project manager that is clueless about the differences between Java statements and SQL statements, or a web server and an application server, is not a great thing, in my opinion.
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and finally implement it my own way because non-technical people won't know the difference 